rust

[Farrell]

I have Flitz and use it for many applications - a great product. But it 
isn't going to polish rusty pins that are so pitted that they are tearing up 
a polishing cloth. The pins need to be replaced, period, end of story.

You can replace a set of pins faster than you can polish them when they are 
as pitted as described. It doesn't take that long.

However, being that I've never met a 70 year old Winter spinet that was 
worth any significant repair, IMHO, this may be just the situation needed 
for the owner to be pushed over the edge and just put the poor thing to 
sleep forever. BTW, if the pins are so corroded that they are tearing up 
your cloth, I can only assume that the key bushings are toast as well. Now 
you're up to $300 - $400 in repairs, plus tuning, and do we really want to 
believe those are the only repairs this piano needs?

Put it out of it's misery!

Sounds to me like "the straw that broke the camel's back"......

Terry Farrell
  ----- Original Message ----- 

  Flitz metal polish, available from Pianotek at $19.95, period, end of 
story.
  Jim Frazee
----- Original Message ----- 
>     I have a piano with rusty front key rail and balance rail pins.
> i tried using Coleman's Key Pin Polisher on a drill with Protek CLP
> dripped into the cloth bushings, which helped some but basically tore
> up the cloth bushings inside the Polisher. then i tried shoving some
> steel wool and protek inside the Polisher with mediocre results and
> much hassle. finally, just rubbing the pins with steel wool wetted
> with a little protek (actually there was enough protek on the pins
> anyway) seemed to work just as well.
>     All of this managed to smooth the pins so they are usable but
> some are still quite rough and i'm afraid the rust will return. it is
> only an old 30's winter spinet so it doesn't warrant pin
> replacements, i don't think. Any ideas? is there something i can put
> into the Pin Polisher to so a better job? perhaps i should just rub
> the pins with steel wool and a rust cleaner?
>   hold on! i just saw the Travis Tuning Pin and Coil Cleaner in
> Schaff. I'll just order that unless there is something better.
>
> -Noah
>